The Bad Branch on the Family Tree
by GalaxieGurl
Summary: Booth shares a fact from the past with Christine on Presidents' Day.
1. Chapter 1

The Bad Branch on the Family Tree

 _A/N: This story tails onto one which FaithinBones wrote 5 years ago._

Presidents' Day dawned bright and clear in the nation's capital. Listening to the radio as he measured scoops of freshly-ground beans into the coffeemaker, Booth smiled with relief as the weather forecaster predicted unseasonably mild mid-day temperatures.

He had a significant father daughter field trip planned with Christine today. He wanted to answer a question for her before their extremely perceptive eleven-year-old daughter brought it up. He hadn't asked Pops about this topic until he was twelve, when a classmate's taunt had caught him by surprise during seventh grade history class.

After carrying a steaming hot cup of coffee to Bones' bedside table, Booth entered Christine's room and wakened her with a hug.

"Why we gotta get up so early, Dad?" she complained into her pillow, burrowing under the covers.

"We've gotta get a move on, Monkey, Our appointment in DC is at 9 a.m."

Booth returned to the kitchen and made four peanut butter-grape jelly sandwiches on whole-wheat bread. _White bread would never darken the door of Temperance Brennan's pantry._ Adding juice boxes, two apples, snickerdoodles, and a bag of raisins in Christine's Frozen lunch bag, he zipped it shut and refilled his FBI coffee mug as Christine's tousled head appeared in the doorway.

"Will it be cold today?" she asked as she pulled out a chair and sat down. He handed her a plate of blueberry pancakes, placed another on the table and sat beside her.

"Nope, we've got a great day for our excursion," he grinned at her.

"Daddy, why are we going to Ford's Theater?"

"All your questions will be answered in good time, Chrissy. Run get dressed and let's be off!"

Forty-five minutes later, Booth and Christine wished Hank and Brennan a good day at Laser Quest with William Hodgins, and headed into DC. As he drove, Booth explained their ancestry to his daughter.

"In a couple years, you are going to learn about the Civil War," he began. "The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was a tragic turn of events just as the Union achieved victory. If he had lived, the aftermath of the war would have been much different."

"Lincoln wanted to reunite the North and South as peacefully as possible, and let people return to their lives without bitterness or blame. But Lincoln was shot at Ford's Theater during a play, by a man who believed the Civil War had greatly wronged the South. He thought killing Lincoln would enable the Confederacy to defeat the North, and gain their independence to do as they pleased. His name was John Wilkes Booth-"

"Daddy!" Christine interrupted. "Booth?" She stared at him wide-eyed.

Booth signaled and pulled over to the curb. He hadn't expected her to make the connection quite so fast. But Christine shared not only his love of history and intuitive gut, but also her mother's lightning fast analytic abilities and Brennan's knack for bluntly stating the obvious. He didn't want to attempt driving while calming her down.

"Pops had to explain this to me when I was about your age, after a classmate teased me that he was probably my great-grand-father," he told Christine. "I didn't believe it and threatened to beat up my friend. But that night I found out from Pops it was partially true."

"John Wilkes Booth is a great-great-great-uncle of mine. His brother was your great-great-great-great grandfather. As Pops told me, who's in your family back when isn't something you have any control over," Booth said.

"He doesn't sound like a very great uncle to me," Christine protested

"Every family includes good people and not so good folks, honey. You just have to live your own life as best you can. But I wanted you to hear this from me, not your teacher or some twerpy kid."

"Daddy, Mom says not to call people that."

Well, that kid in my class certainly was!" Anyway, I thought, since we're lucky enough to live in Washington DC, you ought to see the place involved in our history for yourself. So that's why we're going to Ford's Theater today."

"One of the curators your mother knows from college arranged a special tour just for us. You'll get to see parts of the theater not normally open to the public. That's why we're going so early," Booth explained.

"This is going to be interesting, huh, Daddy? That man was all wrong about Lincoln. It's sad, but sort of fascinating too."

"It made history come alive for me, honey. Lots of people in our family have defended our country, so maybe we made up for what John Wilkes Booth did, at least a little."

He pulled into a parking place alongside the historic red brick building. Finding a spot was easy at this hour. As he turned off the ignition, Booth cautioned his daughter,

"Christine, this isn't something you need to share with your little brother just yet. When Hank is old enough, I'll tell him about this, just as I have you." He took her hand and together they went in to explore Ford's Theater.

Later they shared lunch on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where he and Brennan had talked in the past; Christine seated on the step below him, leaning back between his knees. Booth remembered being slightly drunk after toasting with Sam Riley, sitting beside Brennan on the worn marble stairway, all those years ago. And just look how things turned out, he chuckled softly to himself. "Now we have a daughter and a son and a life—together."

Christine looked up just then. "Daddy, why are you smiling at me? What's so funny?"

"Nothing, Monkey, I'm just remembering when your mom and I sat here one night back before you were around, little girl. You ready to go home and see Mom and Hank?" he crumpled the sandwich bag and gathered their trash.

Christine jumped to her feet and offered him her hand. "Come on, Dad, I'll race you to the car!" And she took off down the steps, giggling all the way down.

Booth turned back to the statue of Lincoln and saluted, "'Til next time, Abe."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 _A/N: One reader commented that some details about the Ford Theater Tour would be a good addition to this story. Another of my most favorite writers, Penandra, gave me some ideas about how to write this, since my family's visit to DC when I was 13 didn't include the tour they took. So, here we go back to DC…._

Christine burst through the front door the moment Booth's key disengaged the lock, chattering like a magpie. "Daddy, I feel so sorry for Edwin Booth! He saved Robert Lincoln from falling in front of a train. When his brother shot the president, he must have felt terrible. The lady actor Laura Keene held the president's head in her lap and tried to make him feel better. John Wilkes Booth wasn't very smart trying to jump down onto the stage. No wonder he hurt his leg!"

Brennan stepped out of the kitchen and smiled at her daughter's excitement. "It sounds like you and your Dad learned a great deal about John Wilkes Booth and President Lincoln. It shows you there can be both good people and bad people in any family. What's important is what you do with your own life."

Hank dragged himself out of the laundry room, and grinned at his father. "Dad, I scored two goals at hockey practice after Laser Quest. Willy Preston skated too fast, ran into me, and we both slammed into the side wall. Mom says I'm gonna have some bruises from it, but we won the scrimmage!"

"Good for you, Tiger!" Booth high-fived his son. "Bones, Is that your macaroni and cheese I smell? A lunch fit for the gods!"

"Daddy, there's only one God," Christine told her father seriously.

"Monkey, that's just an expression. Means that Mom's lunch is out of this world spectacular! Don't you think?"

"Yup, Mommy makes 'lishous mac and cheese, Chrissy!" Hank declared.

"I love Mom's mac and cheese more than almost anything," his sister agreed. "Let's eat; I'm starved, Dad's PBJ sandwiches wore out a long time ago!"

bbbbbbb

Later that night as they dressed for bed, Booth turned to Brennan. "I didn't want to bring it up in front of Chrissy, but when I called the curator to arrange our tour, she told me some very sobering facts about my family. Apparently Edwin Booth had a problem with alcohol and had given up drinking in 1863. His brother's crime ruined the reputation of their famous acting family."

"Edwin greatly admired Lincoln. He had vehemently defended the president's reputation to his brother, and later disowned John Wilkes. Edwin was so distraught that his friends William Bispham and Thomas Aldritch feared for his sanity. They took turn staying with him so he wouldn't return to consuming liquor. Ms. Hamilton said the only thing that comforted him was knowing he had rescued Lincoln's son from death or serious injury on the train platform."

"I guess addiction has run in my family for a long time. Drinking to excess didn't solve Dad's PTSD after Vietnam, but Booths' have tried drowning their sorrows in a bottle of booze long before he did. No wonder Jared and I struggle with addictions. If we'd know that history, it might have prevented us from going down the same road to self-destruction."

Brennan regarded her husband for a moment. "When we were roommates at Northwestern, Connie Hamilton was fascinated by the assassination and everything about it. She told me that Edwin Booth was barred from acting for a year due to public outrage against his brother and family."

"He refused to let anyone speak his brother's name. Edwin found solace in writing his autobiography, which started as letters to his little girl. I can relate to that. I have briefly escaped from problems and sadness by immersing myself in writing my novels at various times in the past."

Booth pulled a t-shirt over his head and walked over to embrace her. "I know I was often the cause of your sadness, Bones, and I 'm sorry for that."

She turned in his arms, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him. "Booth, we've both brought each other happiness as well as tears. But we're together, and that's what's most significant."

Booth kissed her back, then remarked, "Carrie told Christine that Edwin's acting was more restrained than the predominantly melodramatic style of his day. The three Booth brothers appeared together on stage only once in a New York benefit performance of Julius Caesar to raise money for a statue of Shakespeare which still stands in Central Park. We'll have to take her and Hank to see it someday."

"Ms. Hamilton said that the rocker Lincoln was seated in during the performance of Our American Cousin that night ended up at the Henry Ford Museum after years in storage as evidence, and then being sat in by Smithsonian workers on break. They likely didn't know it was Lincoln's last seat, but their lack of regard for history still appalled Carrie."

"She told Christine that the actress Laura Keene brought water for the President and held Lincoln's head in her lap, and was also the first woman to manage a prominent American theater. Mary Lincoln sat nearby on a sofa, nearly hysterical. It makes you realize how stalwart Jacqueline Kennedy was to maintain her composure."

"Enough of history for tonight, Booth. I'm glad you found a positive way to reveal your family's heritage to Christine. When she's older, we may have to discuss your being a sniper with her, and why that's far different from what John Wilkes Booth did. But that's not a topic I'd broach unless she asks."

"Knowing your daughter, she will," Booth sighed. "Guess I'll cross that bridge when it shows up. Now can you think of some way to distract me from my ancestor's disgraceful behavior and heinous crime?"

"Oh, I think that can be arranged, Booth," Brennan purred. "Come to bed and turn off the light."

 _A/N: I gleaned facts for this chapter from history dot net, a wikipedia article on Edwin Booth, and a Henry Ford Museum website article on Lincoln's rocker. Where would Fan Fiction writers be without the fascinating information available on the Internet for quick research?_


End file.
